Scripps is adding 14 large-scale commissioned works and more than 200 integrated pieces by regional artists in the Lusardi Tower to further the Arts for Healing Program’s mission. 

“Our job is to make sure each project features art that is connected to the community and the people it serves,” says Annette Ridenour, president and CEO of Aesthetics Inc., a longtime partner with Scripps on the Arts for Healing Program. 

When patients feel connection to a place, she explains, they feel safer and more at home while in the hospital. 

“That meant we needed to think about people coming from inland areas, like Rancho Santa Fe and Escondido, as well as the North County beach communities. We focused on representing and celebrating the beauty of all places,” she says. 

At the brand-new Colors Café, there are three pieces of artwork funded by residents of La Costa Glen, a retirement community near Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas. Scripps has a longstanding relationship with La Costa Glen.  

Through the La Costa Glen Friendship Committee, residents provide support for the hospital and raise awareness about the programs and services it offers, says La Costa Glen resident Ruby Edman. This includes raising over $2.5 million this year to support Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, after raising a little more than $2.1 million in 2023. 

Ruby has served on the Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Advisory Council since 2006, she says, continuing the legacy of her husband, Ray, who was a member until his passing in 2000.  

When the opportunity arose to support the Arts for Healing Program in the Lusardi Tower, Ruby deepened her commitment. In addition to her work on the La Costa Glen Friendship Committee and Advisory Council, she personally reached out to community members to see if they’d be interested in sponsoring pieces of art. She also individually funded a mosaic by award-winning artist Cynthia Fisher, now on display in Colors Café. 

Ruby’s support is deeply personal. Her husband spent his final days in the hospital’s intensive care unit — with Ruby, of course, by his side. 

“I know what it feels like to need a quiet, calm place to go when you’re at the hospital day after day,” she says. “I saw firsthand what it can provide to the staff who work so hard and need a place that relaxes and refuels them. It’s my hope that art in the Colors Café can create that space.” 

The mosaic Ruby funded — a lively, colorful piece depicting a deconstructed tea party — is made, in part, from broken pieces of pottery. Some of that pottery came courtesy of a La Costa Glen ceramics class. Another plate came right from Ruby’s own cabinet. Ruby’s plate is located on the left-hand side of the mosaic where the colors turn yellow, blue and white. 

She encourages visitors to the hospital to think about all of the time, effort, love, care, commitment, research and expertise that went into getting this specific artwork in this specific space; then, they’ll truly understand what Scripps’ Arts for Healing Program is all about.